TEAM HERALD
OLD GOA: With the feast of St Francis Xavier coming to an end, the focus has now shifted to the exposition of the saint’s body that will be held next year.
A 17-member exposition committee has already been formed under the chairmanship of parish priest of Se Cathedral Fr Alfred Vaz, which will be guided by Archbishop Felipe Neri Ferrao.
Speaking to Herald, Fr Vaz informed that the committee is in constant dialogue with the government and already one such meeting has been held with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and authorities concerned for the smooth conduct of the Exposition. “The chief minister has assured us of the government’s full support in making the event a success,” Fr Vaz added.
When questioned whether the committee has made suggestions to the government on the need of improvement in the infrastructure, Fr Vaz informed that the Church bodies have given inputs on developing parking spaces around Old Goa with suggestions made for better organization of traffic.
“We have also made a proposal to decongest the Pilar-Carambolim road by constructing another road from Old Goa to Goa Velha,” Fr Vaz informed.
On the facilities for accommodating pilgrims during the Exposition, Fr Vaz said the Church has decided to make use of a portion of the Assisi Convent for accommodating pilgrims while also putting up pilgrims at the Spiritual Renewal Centre at Cruz dos Milagres, which is expected to be completed before the Exposition.
“Further, we have identified a place near the St Cajetan’s Church where temporary structures could be set up,” Fr Vaz informed while adding that the Church has also plans to provide accommodation for people of other faiths, keeping in mind their requirements.
On the theme for the Exposition, Fr Vaz said that the same is yet to be finalized but added that it will include faith, communion and family.
“Faith because of the year of faith, communion because of the recently concluded Small Christian Communities convention and family because next year is the Synod of family in Rome,” Fr Vaz elaborated.
Fr Vaz further informed that the committee members have met twice and have chalked out plans for the spiritual preparation of the pilgrims as well as organization of the entire event.
“The spiritual preparation will be a three-level phase which will include long-term preparation, short-term preparation and preparation during the Exposition,” Fr Vaz informed.
Fr Vaz added that the long-term preparation will include printing of material for novenas, setting up of Small Christian Community meetings and other activities.
“The short-term preparation will include organizing input sessions at deanery and parish levels,” he informed while adding that the preparation during Exposition will focus on holding exhibitions, presentations, setting up of galleries by artists and poster competitions for school children.
On the organization of the event, Fr Vaz said the focus is on the long-term preparation with the committee members being given tasks and responsibilities to prepare the ground work. “The next meeting will be held on January 23 next year,” Fr Vaz said.
